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SA Voices From the FieldAuthor: Dr. Jill Creighton, NASPA
SA Voices from the Field shares the voices and stories from student affairs professionals from around the world. This podcast provides you with practical advice to help you be the best student affairs practitioner you can be, no matter where you are in your career. Language: en Genres: Business, Careers, Education Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Fostering Civic Discourse: Tools for Campus Leaders and Student Affairs
Sunday, 3 May, 2026
If you're looking to better understand the evolving landscape of civic discourse on college campuses—and why it matters more than ever for higher education professionals—then you won't want to miss the latest episode of "Student Affairs Voices from the Field." Hosted by Dr. Jill Creighton and featuring guest Jill Dunlap, this episode dives deep into the challenges, opportunities, and innovative solutions for fostering constructive conversations and civic engagement in higher education. A timely conversation, the episode opens with Dr. Jill Creighton welcoming Jill Dunlap back to the podcast and noting the sea change in student affairs policy and engagement work since her last appearance. Jill Dunlap, who has been with NASPA for nearly a decade and now oversees policy and civic engagement, brings first-hand insight into how students are reacting to new policies, especially those affecting graduate student borrowing. As she shares, many students aren't fully aware of major policy shifts that could impact their future opportunities, underscoring the need for student affairs professionals to step up as guides and advocates. Central to their conversation is NASPA's upcoming "Civic Discourse on Campus Virtual Summit"—a brand new, fully online initiative designed to gather campus leaders, policy experts, and innovative practitioners to share tools, strategies, and research for nurturing robust civic dialogue in campus communities. Both Dr. Jill Creighton and Jill Dunlap stress the significance of equipping students to engage respectfully across political and personal differences, especially in a climate marked by polarization and the aftermath of the pandemic. Listeners gain an insider's perspective on what the summit will offer: keynote presentations, breakout sessions on measuring the impact of civic dialogue, facilitating deliberative forums, partnering with faculty, and more (06:12–13:14). Student affairs professionals at every level will find relevant content, whether they're administrating at the VP level or working directly in residence halls. Importantly, all sessions will be recorded and available for later viewing, making the summit accessible for busy schedules. This episode is packed with actionable ideas and authentic reflection on the responsibilities student affairs professionals share in shaping the next generation's civic life. As campuses brace for high-stakes election cycles, and as societal challenges spill over into collegiate life, the tools and support discussed here are essential. Whether you're a campus leader or an aspiring practitioner, tune in to be inspired—and consider joining the conversation at NASPA's Civic Discourse on Campus Virtual Summit this May. Listen now and get equipped for the important work ahead! TRANSCRIPT Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:01]: Welcome to Student Affairs Voices from the Field, the podcast where we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to seasoned experts brought to you by naspa. We curate free and accessible professional development for higher education professionals wherever you happen to be. This is season 14, continuing our conversation on the value of Student Affairs. I'm Dr. Jill Creighton. Sheher hers your essay Voices from the Field host. Welcome, Jill, back to SA Voices. Jill Dunlap [00:00:29]: Thanks for having me. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:30]: We are live at the annual conference, so for our listeners, you might hear a little bit of different audio quality because we're trying a new setup, but we're also here in person. I almost never get to see our guests in person, so I'm very happy to see you. Jill Dunlap [00:00:41]: This is so great. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:42]: We had you on the POD almost four years ago now to talk about some of the work that you were doing around Title ix. And now we're back to talk about a brand new NASPA initiative called the Civic Dialogue Summit. I'm really excited to learn more about that, but it's been a minute since you've been on the pod, and since then your role has changed. Can you tell us a little bit more about you and how you got to your current seat at NASA? Jill Dunlap [00:01:03]: Yeah, absolutely. So I started at NASA. Oh my gosh, I think it's going to be 10 years this November. So I've been here a minute, and since the time that I last spoke to you all, I have added policy duties and civic engagement to my portfolio. And that was just due to different staff transitions and sort of me saying, hey, I'm available and would love to do some additional duties while I'm at NASA. I also teach political science as an adjunct. And so it's a nice way for me to bring what I'm learning here to the classroom and vice versa. And what my I'm hearing from my students about some of these issues to the work that I do at naspa. Jill Dunlap [00:01:33]: So I it's a really beautiful blend of work that I am, I am fortunate to be able to do. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:37]: So when you're teaching, what are you hearing in the world of students that you're bringing back to naspa? Jill Dunlap [00:01:41]: You know, they like just sort of what they're tuned into and what breaks through in terms of policy. I'm doing a presentation this afternoon at the annual conference talking about the new limits on graduate student programs. Right. And so their understanding of that, I think, is at the very infancy and so thinking about, oh, wow, what how do we, as NASA and especially in the policy space, guide student affairs professionals with Letting undergrad students know this is going to drastically change what fields you can go into, depending on what resources you have financially to be able to pursue the degree of your choice. And so these are some really significant changes, and I think some of those haven't broken through yet to students at the undergraduate level. And I think it's our job as student affairs professionals to help them understand that. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:21]: We just did a great episode with Melanie Story, who is the president of NAFSA on some of these policy changes. And just then on Saturday, I was co teaching one of our pre cons for the Public Policy Division and we talked all about the OB3 federal financial aid changes. OB3 stands for the One Big Beautiful act, also known as HR1. But what Jill Dunlap is referring to is really all of this information around new borrowing limits and lifetime borrowing limits for graduate students. And there's a different cap for professional students. It's very confusing. The long story short is that most students will no longer be able to borrow for the full cost of attendance in their programs, which is going to have an incredible ripple effect on who can access that type of education or on what those programs can cost where the list is really long, not even really sure what the impacts are going to be in full yet. We do know that they're going to take effect this year, next year in 27, and the last rules will be introduced in 28. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:03:15]: So it's just going to be a very different landscape. Jill Dunlap [00:03:17]: And it's all the more important for students to have civic agency. Right. And to be able to understand this and understand the power of talking to policymakers about these things on the front end and also in the implementation phase of what's happening around us. So very timely. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:03:31]: So let's talk about the NASPA summit that you're leading along with a couple of campus partners called the Civic Dialogue Summit. So why don't we start with what the basics of what is it? Jill Dunlap [00:03:40]: Yeah, I think, you know, this work has been happening for a really long time. So I definitely don't want it to seem as though NASA's jumping in and like leading the charge on this. I think what we've done with this event, and it's the first time we've done this, especially in the virtual space, is really trying to bring together all the partners that are doing really great work because I think campus campuses sort of buzzy and at this point really kind of bipartisan and we're clinging to things that we can do that are not raising alarm bells for policymakers. And this is one of them. And so I think both sides agree, both, you know, political parties agree that students ability to have challenging conversations with people who think very differently from them is an important skill. And so let's like come together around that and take this moment where we have an opportunity to move forward on some of those things where we may not in other areas and give campuses and campus professionals just the tools and resources and awareness of who's working in this space so that they can develop really robust programs on their own campuses. And so I think this is the culminating event where we're doing that and we're bringing together some really important thought leaders in this area. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:04:39]: This sounds like a really great opportunity for campuses to participate. Where is this going to be held? Jill Dunlap [00:04:43]: It is online, so anybody can attend. And I know that there are folks with different travel restrictions. And so to me, there's a real equality of opportunity to attend this. It is on Friday, May 8, and I believe that it starts at 11 Central so that we are not too early for our west coast partners. And it runs all the way through into the afternoon. And so we'll have one keynote kickoff presentation and then there'll be a series of breakout sessions. So folks will have different options to choose from throughout the afternoon. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:05:11]: Can you talk a little bit about how much this might cost for members? Jill Dunlap [00:05:14]: Yeah, I think it's a really reasonable cost for folks to be able to come. Early registration runs through the end of March, and for members it is 1, 99, and it is 2. 99 for non members. And also because we really appreciate and value the work of students in this area, there is a student rate of 70, $79 for early registration. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:05:29]: What might I expect from the participant experience? Jill Dunlap [00:05:31]: I think you can expect, like I said, a lot of thought leaders in this space who are doing really important work and really from a broad range of perspectives. So thinking about folks who want to host deliberative forums and what does that look like and how do you measure the effectiveness of those two? How are we capturing data about the impact of students who are developing these skill sets? How do you scale some of this work so that you can run it across first year experience programs or in residence halls? There's a session focused on how do we partner with faculty to infuse civic discourse into a wide range of curriculum. It doesn't just have to be the 101 classes that we can really talk about, some of the debates in our chemistry classes and the different schools of thought and how do we just really infuse this skill set throughout a student's entire journey at an institution. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:06:12]: I'm just taking a look at the schedule and what I'm seeing are a lot of really great external higher ed partners. And I think normally with a lot of NASPA events we see people coming from different campuses, but this is really exciting to see common ground here from some other external folks who are bringing their skill set into our world. So can you talk a little bit about any of the partners that are presenting? Jill Dunlap [00:06:31]: Yeah, we've partnered with all of these folks before in different capacities. So we have in years past had a place based civic learning and democratic engagement conference. Some of these folks have presented there. I think the reason that these folks were selected is that they are just approaching this from a really robust and diverse array of perspectives. And so again, you know, there's some folks who are working with faculty, there are some folks who are working with measurement and data and scaling up. And so to me, each of the folks that are represented and coming to present, each of the organizations that will be there are just a demonstration of really important work that's happening at the national level. We do have someone coming from a campus as well to talk about how do you do an entire class on civic discourse. And I think some folks are like, I could do that at my campus. Jill Dunlap [00:07:11]: You know, I'm a smaller campus, like what do I need to know to make that happen at my institution? And so I think we have a really good mix of both the campus level perspectives as well as the folks that are working at scale across a wide range of institutions across the country. So I think it'll be a really nice marriage of those different perspectives in a one day event. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:07:27]: And this event is both breakout sessions and keynote sessions throughout. So attendees will have some sessions where everyone's together, some sessions where people, people get to choose between two or three topics. So if I'm an attendee and I really want to go to one and it's happening at the same time as another, can I access them? Jill Dunlap [00:07:44]: You sure can. That's actually also the beauty of a virtual summit is that all of the sessions will be recorded. And so anyone who registers, even if you can't attend on the day of, which I know I shouldn't say that, because the goal is that you would attend the day of, because I do think some of the breakout sessions will have engagement opportunities in breakout rooms. And so if you're wanting to come and hear what other campuses are doing or connect with other people that are doing this work and you're thinking, I didn't know that there were other people that did these same things at other institutions, or I know that that campus is similarly situated to mine. It would be a really great networking opportunity for those who attend live. But if you wanted to see all of the sessions and you can't, you know, physically be at all of them, they all will be recorded and they'll be on demand and available for a year after the actual live event for folks who register. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:08:23]: If I am new to naspa, how is this different than maybe some of our other virtual offerings? Jill Dunlap [00:08:28]: Yeah, I think sometimes we get very specific in the virtual offerings. And to me, this is something that is really the. The purview or the responsibility of everyone. If you are working with student government, you want them to have civically engaged conversations. If you are advising student organizations and they are bringing controversial speakers and you have a different student organization that wants to protest that. And again, not that we're discouraging that, but really everybody has a responsibility, I think, from student affairs perspective, to help students figure out how to engage with one another. It is not just faculty, it is not just in the classroom. We see the body of activities that students engage in outside of the classroom. Jill Dunlap [00:09:01]: And to me, civic engagement and civic learning and especially civic discourse is the job of everyone in a student affairs role. So for me, this event, I think, brings together enough information that will be useful to, for decision makers at like AVP VP level, but also folks who are working in the civic engagement office or are in a res hall and they're like, how do I get roommates to talk to each other? I mean, there's really some very individualized skill building that is being discussed in some of these sessions. And so I just think it's so applicable for everyone. So if you're new to NASA and you're like, I don't do civic engagement, that's not in my title. It doesn't mean that you won't benefit from some of these sessions in terms of your engagement with students. And we know that they're struggling. These students in our, in our classrooms and on our campuses are coming out of COVID and already struggling with how to engage with one another, much less in a really, really polariz environment. And so when everything becomes politics, this is going to give folks a lot of food for thought and also some really tangible takeaways about how to help students just develop this skill in a way that is really, I think, beneficial for themselves and the campus community as a whole. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:09:57]: Definitely. Really timely. Yeah, you mentioned about the polarization of perspectives that we're seeing on campuses now. And one of the missions of higher education has always has been to help people understand each other from different life perspectives and critically think about things. And I think those of us who are working in student affairs now didn't probably have that same collegiate experience where it was probably not as tense, it was just as serious, but probably not as tense as today. And so this is an incredible toolkit that we could probably all use right now, regardless of where we are in the world. Jill Dunlap [00:10:27]: Yeah, well, and I would also just say I think the timing of it is really especially important because I think as we're heading into a midterm election that is already, like in the primaries, getting very heated. If we can help students engage across difference in the middle of a very important election year, I think a lot of civic engagement offices just think that the only thing that they need to focus on is voter registration and turnout out. And to me, we're missing the sort of building blocks that get students to the idea that voting is important or a part of their civic ethos. And so for me, this is the opportunity to build those building blocks for students. But in a year where we know that they're going to be faced with a lot of political content and the ability to think differently or accept other points of view and incorporate those into how you are approaching the election, I think is going to be really important. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:11:12]: It's become increasingly important to learn to listen, to seek to understand. And that's a skill set that's been a little bit different lately. And I appreciate what you're saying about COVID and how that's affected students engagement with each other. And we're now six years past the start of COVID which time changed. For me personally, I think time changed for a lot of people in the last six years. But these are students now who didn't do Covid High School. They did Covid Middle school or maybe even late elementary school. And those were extremely formative years in terms of learning to communicate at probably one of the most difficult times to be a human being in life, combined with. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:11:46]: With digital addiction and a whole bunch of other things. And we've forgotten how to talk to each other. So I'm very appreciative that this is coming out. And I want to correct myself. I earlier said civic dialogue Summit, it's called Civic Discourse on Campus Virtual Summit. So if you're googling for something on the NASA website, civic discourse are the keywords that you're going to want to use to find this program. And I mentioned earlier that there's quite a few sessions that are both either simulcast or a pathway selection. So I just want to share what those are to get people excited. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:12:16]: We've got Civic A Crucible Moment for Democracy. The next one is is your campus built for Constructive Assessing Pathways to Stronger Civic Health? The one that I'm most interested in is can deliberative forums lower the temperature? And that is such a key framework right now for our campuses. The next one is Leading through campus Conflict, a frame for responding to student demands and concerns which anyone who has a highly significantly active student population could certainly benefit. We have from evidence to impact how research informs scalable civic dialogue on campus. Scalable being an extremely key word, different from when you're working with a small student population versus when you're maybe working with a large group of students who have a set of things that they're asking for. We have beyond good Conversations, measuring and acting on civic discourse's impact. It's a summit session and I'll give a shout out to the speaker, who is Catherine Solano, who's one of my favorite collaborative partners in the Public Policy Division, Space Place. She's an excellent practitioner. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:13:14]: We have Building Sustainable Campus Collaborations, then Building Essential Skills for Civic Life and Leadership, and finally State and federal Policy Trends on civic Discourse. So if any of these things sound interesting, you, we strongly encourage you to check it out again. Civic Discourse on Campus virtual summit happening at the beginning of May. I know for me that's also move out weekend for students. Jill, is there anything else that you want people to know about the summit or kind of the context around it? Jill Dunlap [00:13:41]: You know, I just think even again, back to the policy space, that some of the changes in focus of the current presidential administration have been towards civic discourse. And so we saw for the first time some grants from the Department of Education. I think some of those funds were pulled from places that other people will miss those funds. So I don't want to say that it's necessarily all good, but to the extent that they are showing a focus on civic discourse, one of the grantees from the Department of Education is one of the presenters. So again, the idea that the government is investing in this and so to the extent that this work has been happening on campus, this is not new, but that we can elevate and highlight and really learn from one another and learn about what tools and partners are in this space so that folks just can move forward from here and I think come away with some really good ideas and taking a fresh look at what they're doing at their own institution. So that again, heading into the fall, especially with the midterm elections, that it's so much more than about voting. It really is about helping the institution and meet its mission, oftentimes which includes civic engagement quite frequently. And I think this is one of those tools that we are able to provide the profession to do that well. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:14:39]: I'm also seeing a checkbox for continuing education credit credits. Is that a possibility? Jill Dunlap [00:14:45]: Yes, I believe that we are announcing which ones will be which the summit will fill, but at this point for sure it will be the CSAED credits for anybody who attends this. If you are a part of the certification program. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:14:55]: Well, I am looking forward to this program becoming a reality. I know I'm looking forward to learning from it as well. For those of you who'd like to sign up, search again for Civic Discourse on Campus Virtual Summit, which will happen on May 8th. It's time to take a quick break and toss it over to producer Chris to learn what's going on in the NASPA world world. Speaker C [00:15:14]: Hey Joe, glad to be back in the NASPA world and there's a ton of things happening in NASPA as we've been learning about today. The 2026 civic discourse on Campus Virtual Summit is coming up really soon as colleges and universities work to support student learning and engagement amid an evolving landscape around free speech, academic freedom and political expression, the need for thoughtful, principled approaches to civic discourse has never been greater. The 2026 civic discourse on Campus Virtual Summit brings together higher education leaders, student affairs professionals and dialogue practitioners to explore the evolving landscape and share evidence informed strategies for cultivating healthy campus climates. This Virtual Summit is happening Tuesday, May 8, 2026 from 11:00am to 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time and you can register today on the NASPA website. Just go to learning.naspa.org to register today. The NASPA Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Virtual Summit is coming up on Tuesday, May 19 from 11am to 4pm Eastern Standard Time. The 2026 NASPA Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Summit will provide campus and organizational leaders with the knowledge, tools and strategies needed to drive meaningful campus wide change in sexual violence prevention and response. Featuring expert led session and evidence based practices, the Summit will equip participants to advance holistic approaches that center prevention, elevate survivor support, strengthen equitable services for respondents, and embed equity, safety and well being into the fabric of campus life. Speaker C [00:16:58]: If this sounds like a learning opportunity that you want to take advantage for yourself or for your staff. Go to learning.naspa.org to find out more. The 2027 Annual Conference Focus Area Virtual Information Session on Adapting with Purpose and Agency in the New Era of Student affairs is happening on May 8th at 1pm Eastern Standard Time. This session introduces the focus area Adapting with Purpose and Agency in the New Era of Student Affairs. In this session we will cover the themes of governance and compliance, strategic partnerships, emergent student populations, and aligning student affairs work with institutional goals. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain clarity on how to frame your proposals for the NASPA 2027 conference within this focus area. So if you're planning to attend the 2027 conference and want to present, this is a great opportunity to be able to learn about one of the main focus areas of the conference so you can be ready to submit when the when the submission period opens. You can sign up for this session@learning.naspa.org Every week we're going to be sharing some amazing things that are happening association. Speaker C [00:18:11]: So we are going to be able to try and keep you up to date on everything that's happening and allow for you to be able to get involved in different ways. Because the association is as strong as its members and for all of us, we have to find our place within the association, whether it be getting involved with the knowledge community, giving back within one of the the centers or the divisions of the Association. And as you're doing that, it's important to be able to ident for yourself. Where do you fit? Where do you want to give back? Each week we're hoping that we will share some things that might encourage you, might allow for you to be able to get some ideas that will provide you with an opportunity to be able to say, hey, I see myself in that knowledge community, I see myself doing something like that, or encourage you in other ways that allow for you to be able to think beyond what's available right now to offer other things to the association, to bring your gifts, your talents to the association and to all of the members within the association. Because through doing that, all of us are stronger and the association is better. Tune in again next week as we find out more about what is happening in naspa. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:19:32]: Chris, thank you so much for continuing to keep us updated on what's going on in and around NASPA. And Jill, we have reached our lightning round, which we know you've done once before, so we change it up on you and we have a little bit of a different set of questions. Seven questions, 90 seconds. All right, are you ready? All right, number one, last time you told us your entrance music. If you were a conference keynote speaker, would you like to change your song? Jill Dunlap [00:19:54]: Yeah, I think so. I, you know, got really invested in heated rivalry, so it's probably something from that soundtrack. I don't even know that I have a specific one, but it would definitely come from that show. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:02]: Number two, what was your undergrad degree and do you use it in your work night now? Jill Dunlap [00:20:06]: It was journalism in Spanish. Sadly, I have not kept up with the Spanish, but the journalism taught me how to write, and I use writing every single day. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:12]: Number three, your guilty pleasure TV show binge lately? Jill Dunlap [00:20:15]: Oh, let's just go back again. It's like a reheat of heated rivalry. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:18]: Number four, if someone visits your city, which is Chicago, what is the one place that they must eat? Jill Dunlap [00:20:24]: Oh, I think it's Cindy's Rooftop. The chef there was on one of the most recent seasons of Top Chef, and the views from the top of that restaurant are amazing. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:32]: So not deep dish, then. Jill Dunlap [00:20:33]: They can. If that is your jam. People have very strong feelings about that. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:38]: Number five, your favorite work related podcast. Jill Dunlap [00:20:41]: Oh, gosh, I listen to too many. I listen to all the podcast of America pods because I, as part of my job, have to keep up on policy. And it's not biased, but I do like their series of podcasts that they put out. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:52]: Number six, your favorite not work related podcast. Jill Dunlap [00:20:55]: Oh, my gosh. Now see, that's a hard one. I do like Hysteria. It is still a crooked media podcast, but the women on that used to work for the Obama administration. They just have some really good deep cuts on what's happening in the world around us. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:07]: And finally, number seven, any shout outs you'd like to give, personal or professional? Jill Dunlap [00:21:11]: You know what? I would like to give a shout out to the team that works with me in the policy area, and that is Janae Chandler, our vice president, and Diana Ali, who I think was on a recent episode as well. But those two I work with regularly and without their brains, we couldn't do what we do. So I'm really appreciative to be surrounded by such thoughtful leaders. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:27]: Definitely a double shout out to them and to yourself. I think the policy squad and NASPA are some of my favorite colleagues that I get to work with. I love everyone who works there, but the three of you have always been such incredible colleagues and for many years now. Jill Dunlap [00:21:39]: Yeah. Oh, we feel the same about you. Thank you. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:41]: Oh, thank you. Over the years, Jill Dunlap and I have been in a lot of meetings together and somebody always says Jill. And both of us go, what? Jill, if someone would like to reach you after the show, how can they find you? Jill Dunlap [00:21:52]: Just via my NASPA email. I'm at J Dunlap, which is D U N L a p@naspa.org Jill, thank Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:57]: you so much for bringing your voice to us and sharing with us for the second time. We really appreciate it. Jill Dunlap [00:22:02]: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:22:03]: Having me. This has been an episode of Essay Voices from the Field brought to you by naspa. This show is made possible because of you, the listeners. We continue to be so grateful that you choose to spend your time with us. If you'd like to reach the show, you can email us@sa voicesaspa.org or find me on LinkedIn by searching for Dr. Jill L. Creighton. We welcome your feedback and your topics and guest suggestions always. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:22:30]: We'd love it if you take a moment to tell a colleague about the show and leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening now. It really does help other student affairs professionals find the show and helps us to become more visible in the larger podcasting community. This episode was produced and hosted by Dr. Jill Creighton. That's me. Produced and audio engineered by Dr. Chris Lewis. Special thanks to the University of Michigan, Flint for your support as we create this project. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:22:56]: Catch you next time.
